Bos indicus cattle reproductive performance inferior???

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Jeanne - Simme Valley

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I've never heard this before.
"Bos indicus cattle breeds are very important to global beef production due to their adaptability to tropical and sub-tropical climates, including those found in Texas and other southern U.S. states.
But a big challenge or disadvantage for Bos indicus, or Brahman, cattle is that their overall reproductive performance is inferior to that of Bos taurus cattle breeds such as Angus and Hereford, which predominate in the Midwest and Northern states
."
 
@Jeanne - Simme Valley the article spins it as inferior when in reality it is just later. It's a later maturing breed and it's not the only one. For my Angus replacement heifers, I can breed them at 15 months of age and calve them out at 24 months. The Indicus and Indicus cross heifers aren't all cycling by that age, and you have to wait longer to breed.
 
Im pretty sure that is old info. When I went to AI class they were already taking about all that. They could test your heifers at like weaning age I think and see which will be the most productive based on one of those numbers. They have special sync protocols for pure Brahmans when doing AI.

That's one of those one sided articles. They claim you get one less calf but that assumes you are selling cows at exactly the same age. If you breed them later but get a longer life expectancy and a high salvage price did you really lose out? Common sense and basic math says... No. In fact, I know people breeding pure blood Angus and Hereford who refuse to breed that early because they claim those cattle are not as productive for them long term.

They also show what we will assume are F1s in their pic. That's a whole different world talking F1s Brafords and Brangus vs pure blood Brahmans. They should really look at the stats on that because in the AI class they also talked about breed comparisons in general for reproduction and they were some of the highest.

There are also some studies about to come out talking about meat grading with F1s bred back to Angus bulls. These old wives tails about meat quality is just not true either.

Brahmans are going to naturally do what it takes to survive. Their reproduction, attitude, etc will all adjust to survive in their environment.
 
@Jeanne - Simme Valley the article spins it as inferior when in reality it is just later. It's a later maturing breed and it's not the only one. For my Angus replacement heifers, I can breed them at 15 months of age and calve them out at 24 months. The Indicus and Indicus cross heifers aren't all cycling by that age, and you have to wait longer to breed.
Yep. And Longhorns seem to mature a little later as well. However they, like Brahmas, tend to live longer and remain productive to an older age, so it all evens out.
 
@Jeanne - Simme Valley the article spins it as inferior when in reality it is just later. It's a later maturing breed and it's not the only one. For my Angus replacement heifers, I can breed them at 15 months of age and calve them out at 24 months. The Indicus and Indicus cross heifers aren't all cycling by that age, and you have to wait longer to breed.

My F1s are dropping their first calf at 24 months.

Brangus can be bred earlier.

Pure blood Brahmans can push up closer to 2 years old before being bred.

You can't put 3/8s (composites) and 1/2 (F1s) Brahman cattle in the same category as pure blood Brahmans. It is two completely different worlds.
 
the article spins it as inferior when in reality it is just later.
That's your spin. Truth is later = inferior
The dvm in the article states skeletally they are ready and capable of calving earlier, so they will be experimenting with hormones to attempt earlier and more efficient cycling with the goal of getting 1 more calf per cow per lifetime.
4 year study so don't expect usable real world results for a decade.
 
they will be experimenting with hormones to attempt earlier and more efficient cycling with the goal of getting 1 more calf per cow per lifetime.
It's just a way for them to justify getting a big grant from a university or government agency, the truth is they are already getting one more calf per lifetime because Indicus have a longer productive life.
 
Brahmans breed later for a reason. Their environment requires it. You bring a straight black Angus down on gulf coast of Texas and she won't be efficient and or survive, nor do their calves perform in the feedlot. They are not designed for it. All those stats are in their environment. No more than a Brahman will perform covered it snow all the time.

Comparing a Brahman to an Angus and is like comparing a compact car to a 1 ton truck. Ya, they both get you down the road but are built for different environments.
 
It's just a way for them to justify getting a big grant from a university or government agency, the truth is they are already getting one more calf per lifetime because Indicus have a longer productive life.
if you say so - but if you can get 1 more calf for every 15 years of productive life,
how is that a bad thing?
Afterall you're feeding her 1 year more than need be if they're skeletally ready to breed earlier. A grant of 125k per year is small potatoes compared to the potential benefit to millions of people's food supply.
 
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I've never heard this before.
"Bos indicus cattle breeds are very important to global beef production due to their adaptability to tropical and sub-tropical climates, including those found in Texas and other southern U.S. states.
But a big challenge or disadvantage for Bos indicus, or Brahman, cattle is that their overall reproductive performance is inferior to that of Bos taurus cattle breeds such as Angus and Hereford, which predominate in the Midwest and Northern states
."
Akaushi tend to have Bos taurus carcass performance with Bos indicus adaptability and efficiencies. "They can acclimate within 30 to 40 days wherever you take them," from the mountains of Montana to the south Texas plains. "We're emphasizing to producers that you have to get a calf on the ground.
 
Interesting thread. It is kinda like trying to compare a car to a truck or an apple to an orange. If everything else between the two species in terms of adaptation were equal, sure, you could make a comparison and say Bos indicus is at a disadvantage, but everything else is not the same. The concept of comparison shown here also needs to be applied to breeds of cattle, and not just these two species.
 
I'm seeing a lot of Brahma bulls around VA lately. Neighbor has one, great big thing but he is quiet and fairly gentle. I think awareness of cattle performance in summer heat and fescue is driving adoption.
 

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